Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hoop-toss game of skill simulative of the game of basketball. More particularly, the invention relates to a basketball backboard and hoop assembly that may be used indoors by children.
2. Background Information
Many different arrangements have been used to set up a basketball, or basketball-simulative, hoop and backboard. Of particular interest to the present invention are reduced-scale basketball-simulative hoop and backboard arrangements generally intended for indoor play by children who may use a small, soft polymeric foam ball. Notable in the prior patent art in this field are:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,136, wherein Halter et al. teach a basketball target mounted to a door by means of adjustable straps that accommodate variations in both door width and mounting height. Their target includes at least one hoop that can be pivoted up against the backboard. Halter et al.""s target, because it requires someone to reach up to the top of a door when installing it over the door, generally requires an adult to be present whenever a small child is to play the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,879 wherein Glancey et al. describe a variety of sports targets that are intended to be mounted on someone""s body and carried aboutxe2x80x94e.g., for crowd participation entertainment purposes during breaks in sporting events. Several of these targets are supported on ladder like frames or provide a telescopic adjustable for height.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,249, wherein Offutt teaches a door-mounted basketball game providing for height adjustment. Inasmuch as Offutt""s bracket mounts either to the top or to the bottom of the door, there is no need for width adjustment.
U.S. Des. 302,575, wherein Parrish shows a decorative indoor basketball target having two flat elongated loops extending horizontally across the back of the backboard. These loops appear to be intended to be used to mount the backboard to a door by slipping the loops over the top of the door.
Several U.S. patents unrelated to ball games provide teaching of structures showing features analogous to those of present invention. Notable among these are:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,565, wherein Kersey teaches an extensible ladder-like structure intended for use as a cargo brace in the load bed of a truck. Kersey""s structure comprises a pair of inner rails slidably and telescopically mounted within a pair of spaced outer rails. Tension springs are mounted within each outer rail and are arranged so as to bias the inner rails into a retracted position within the outer rails. A separate ratchet means is provided to extend the inner rails outwardly into positive engagement with the walls of the load bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,532,909, wherein Hart shows a spring-loaded clothes bar comprising two telescopically intermitted rods and a compression spring biasing the composite clothes bar into an extended state.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,639,551, wherein Booth presents a spring-loaded curtain rod comprising an inner rod telescopically and slidably interfitted into an outer rod. A compression spring biases the curtain rod into an extended position.
A preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the invention provides a basketball backboard assembly consisting of at least a backboard, a basketball hoop attached to the backboard whenever it is in use, and a horizontally disposed extensible frame having a central portion fixedly attached to the backboard and having two side portions. Each of these side portions is biased by associated springs into an expanded position in which the apparatus is held between the vertical walls or jambs of a doorway.
It is an object of one embodiment of the invention to provide a basketball backboard that is removably mountable within a doorway, and that can preferably be mounted in the doorway regardless of whether the door is open or closed. It is an additional specific object of the invention to provide a removable backboard that can be mounted within a doorway, or removed therefrom, by a child who is too short to reach the top of the door.
It is a further object of some embodiments of the invention to provide apparatus for a hoop-toss game simulative of the game of basketball, where the apparatus comprises a backboard assembly having a basketball hoop attached thereto, and wherein the method of attaching the hoop to the backboard is such that the assembly can be stored in a rectangular box having a length comparable in size to a width of a doorway, a width slightly larger than the height of the backboard, and a thickness substantially smaller than the diameter of the hoop. In a first specific embodiment of the invention, the hoop is removed from the backboard before the assembly is placed in the box. In a second specific embodiment, the hoop is hingedly attached to the backboard so that it can be folded flat against the backboard when the assembly is placed in the box.
Although it is believed that the foregoing recital of features and advantages may be of use to one who is skilled in the art and who wishes to learn how to practice the invention, it will be recognized that the foregoing recital is not intended to list all of the features and advantages. Moreover, it may be noted that various embodiments of the invention may provide various combinations of the hereinbefore recited features and advantages of the invention, and that less than all of the recited features and advantages may be provided by some embodiments.